ABC Supramolecular Triblock Copolymer by ROMP and ATRP

Secondary Structure in Nonpeptidic Supramolecular Block Copolymers

Proteins contain a level of complexity-secondary and tertiary structures-that polymer chemists aim to imitate. The bottom-up synthesis of protein-mimicking polymers mastering sequence variability and dispersity remains challenging. Incorporating polymers with predefined secondary structures, such as helices and π-π stacking sheets, into block copolymers circumvents the issue of designing and predicting one facet of their 3D architecture. Block copolymers with well-defined secondary-structure elements formed by covalent chain extension or supramolecular self-assembly may be considered for localized tertiary structures.In this Account, we describe a strategy toward block copolymers composed of units bearing well-defined secondary structures mixed in a "plug-and-play" manner that approaches a modicum of the versatility seen in nature. Our early efforts focused on the concept of single-chain collapse to achieve folded secondary structures through either hydrogen bonding or quadrupole attractive forces. These cases, however, required high dilution. Therefore, we turned to the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of [2.2]paracyclophane-1,9-dienes (pCpd), which forms conjugated, fluorescent poly(p-phenylenevinylene)s (PPVs) evocative of β-sheets. Helical building blocks arise from polymers such as poly(isocyanide)s (PICs) or poly(methacrylamide)s (PMAcs) containing bulky, chiral side groups while the coil motif can be represented by any flexible chain; we frequently chose poly(styrene) (PS) or poly(norbornene) (PNB). We installed moieties for supramolecular assembly at the chain ends of our "sheets" to combine them with complementary helical or coil-shaped polymeric building blocks.Assembling hierarchical materials tantamount to the complexity of proteins requires directional interactions with high specificity, covalent chain extension, or a combination of both chemistries. Our design is based on functionalized reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) agents that allowed for the introduction of recognition motifs at the terminus of building blocks and chain-terminating agents (CTAs) that enabled the macroinitiation of helical polymers from the chain end of ROMP-generated sheets and/or coils. To achieve triblock copolymers with a heterotelechelic helix, we relied on supramolecular assembly with helix and coil-shaped building blocks. Our most diverse structures to date comprised a middle block of PPV sheets, parallel or antiparallel, and supramolecularly or covalently linked, respectively, end-functionalized with molecular recognition units (MRUs) for orthogonal supramolecular assembly. We explored PPV sheets with multiple folds achieved by chain extension using alternating pCpd and phenyl-pentafluorophenyl β-hairpin turns. Using single-molecule polarization spectroscopy, we showed that folding occurs preferentially in multistranded over double-stranded PPV sheets. Our strategy toward protein-mimicking and foldable polymers demonstrates an efficient route toward higher ordered, well-characterized materials by taking advantage of polymers that naturally manifest secondary structures. Our studies demonstrate the retention of distinct architectures after complex assembly, a paradigm that we believe may extend to other polymeric folding systems.

Side-chain functionalized supramolecular helical brush copolymers

The construction of a supramolecular brush copolymer featuring a helical backbone is described. The pendant chains are grafted onto the backbone through metal coordination.

Synthesis of Terpyridine End-Modified Polystyrenes through ATRP for Facile Construction of Metallo-Supramolecular P3HT-b-PS Diblock Copolymers

Complementary complexation between 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (tpy) and 6,6″-dianthracenyl-substituted tpy in the presence of Zn(II) ions provided an efficient strategy for construction of metallo-supramolecular diblock copolymers. To synthesize well-defined tpy-modified polystyrenes (PSs), an Fe(II) bis(tpy) complex bearing α-bromoester as a metallo-initiator was applied to atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to avoid poisoning the Cu(I) catalyst. Subsequently, a series of tpy-functionalized PSs was obtained after the decomplexation of junction by tetrakis(triethylammonium) ethylenediaminetetraacetate (TEA-EDTA) under mild conditions. The metallo-supramolecular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-block-PS diblock copolymers were prepared by simply mixing the corresponding terminally tpy-modified homopolymers with Zn(II) ions, and further characterized by 1H NMR and diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) experiments. The approach using metallo-initiators for ATRP offers an opportunity to construct tpy-functionalized polymers with controllable molecular weights and low polydispersities. Through the spontaneous heteroleptic complexation, a variety of metallo-supramolecular diblock copolymers with tunable block ratios can be easily constructed.

Synthesis of a Heterotelechelic Helical Poly(methacrylamide) and its Incorporation into a Supramolecular Triblock Copolymer

We report the first heterotelechelic helical poly(methacrylamide) (PMAc) bearing orthogonal supramolecular binding sites on its chain-ends synthesized through a combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization and thiol-bromo "click" chemistry. The heterotelechelic PMAc was assembled with two monotelechelic polymers featuring different secondary structures, namely a coil-like poly(styrene) and a helical poly(isocyanide), resulting in the formation of a coil-helix-helix supramolecular triblock copolymer through orthogonal metal coordination and hydrogen bonding interactions. Triblock assembly was confirmed through 1H NMR spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and viscometry. The individual polymer blocks retained their secondary structures in the final triblock copolymer, as evidenced by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Our synthetic strategy expands the toolbox of triblock copolymers featuring structural motifs similar to the ones found in proteins and provides the potential for the development of other complex multifunctional polymeric ensembles.

Polyphilicity-An Extension of the Concept of Amphiphilicity in Polymers

Recent developments in synthetic pathways as simple reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) techniques and quantitative post-polymerization reactions, most notoriously 'click' reactions, leading to segmented copolymers, have broadened the molecular architectures accessible to polymer chemists as a matter of routine. Segments can be blocks, grafted chains, branchings, telechelic end-groups, covalently attached nanoparticles, nanodomains in networks, even sequences of random copolymers, and so on. In this review, we describe the variety of the segmented synthetic copolymers landscape from the point of view of their chemical affinity, or synonymous philicity, in bulk or with their surroundings, such as solvents, permeant gases, and solid surfaces. We focus on recent contributions, current trends, and perspectives regarding polyphilic copolymers, which have, in addition to hydrophilic and lipophilic segments, other philicities, for example, towards solvents, fluorophilic entities, ions, silicones, metals, nanoparticles, and liquid crystalline moieties.

Accurately Determining the Extent of Coupling in Post Polymerization Reactions of Polystyrene

Polymers prepared by controlled radical polymerization (CRP) can be employed in subsequent chain-end joining reactions, yet accurately assessing the extent of coupling in mechanistically unique paths is not straightforward. Precisely known mixtures of polystyrene standards were prepared and analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), mimicking the coupled product and precursor that could be present after a post-polymerization, chain-end joining reaction. The exactly known percentages of each polymer in the mixture allowed for comparison of the true "extent of coupling" (Xc) to that determined by a commonly used equation, which is based on number average molecular weights (Mn) of the precursor and coupled product. The results indicated that an improvement in accuracy could be achieved by instead using refractive index (RI) signal height ratios under the peak molecular weight (Mp) of each component, with all calculations being within 0.05 of the true Xc of the fabricated "product" mixture (compared to greater than 0.10 average error using the more established method) when the sample mixture had nominal molecular weights of 2500 and 5000 Da. Moreover, when "precursor" and "coupled" pairs mixed were not related as a simple doubling of molecular weight, the calculation method presented here remained effective at determining the content of the mixture, especially at higher Xc values (>0.45). This second case is important for experiments that may link polymer chains together with a spacer, such as a radical trap, a triazole, or even larger structure such as an oligomer.